


you and your lover boy

by roseandthorns28



Series: cheers darlin' [2]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Arthur is a jealous bean, Established Relationship, Jealousy, M/M, Make Outs, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23851216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseandthorns28/pseuds/roseandthorns28
Summary: When a job requires two out of the three-person team to share a bed, Arthur takes the single to allay any suspicions about him and Eames being together. Unfortunately, he doesn't anticipate the consequences of his overcautious decision making process.
Relationships: Arthur/Eames (Inception)
Series: cheers darlin' [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718725
Comments: 9
Kudos: 103
Collections: Inception Bedsharing Fest





	you and your lover boy

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is set in the future of my fic[ got years to wait ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6083634) but knowledge of that isn't necessary. Just know that Cobb and Arthur were in a fake relationship and Eames spent years pining over and getting jealous over Arthur before they finally got together after the inception job.

"You're being uncharacteristically caustic today," Eames points out with a raised eyebrow, resting the steaming mug of coffee in front of Arthur. 

Arthur looks up with a glare immediately realising that he is not disproving Eames in any way and tempers his face into a more neutral expression. 

"You look uncharacteristically well rested for having shared a bed with a stranger.”

"Jae isn't a disruptive person to sleep next to," is the easy response. 

_I wanted to be the one sleeping next to you_ , Arthur thinks petulantly but swallows the words down at the last minute with a hasty sip of his still hot coffee. 

Eames raises an eyebrow, a hint of a smile on his plush, gorgeous lips and Arthur kind of wants to punch him. If he'd ever been under the misconception that sleeping with Eames would make him any less annoying then ooh, boy, he'd have been proven dead wrong. 

"You know, I hate to say I told you so but you're the one who was so adamant on us being discreet. Not to mention, you jumped on the chance to kip on the sofa. If anything you brought this on yourself. So why don’t we give that professionalism of yours a try and stop having a strop, mm?” Eames finishes snarkily before pushing off from his desk and moving to the other side of the room. 

Arthur pinches the bridge of his nose, his other hand fisted tightly, trying to tamp down on his anger at being spoken to like a damn child. Not that he can blame Eames. 

He has been acting like one; throwing a tantrum because he didn’t get what he wanted despite having had the choice. He hadn’t even known it would get to him to this extent. Or at all if he’s being honest. His complete lack of a meaningful long term relationship notwithstanding, he never thought he’d be the jealous type. And that too at something that is so obviously baseless. Eames and he are together. Eames is not a cheater. Jae is completely uninterested in anything with Eames, or with anyone else if rumours are to be believed. They are all goddamn adults working a job together, not on an episode of Jersey Shore. 

His pride prevents him from actually addressing the issue again, focusing his energies on doing his fucking job like he should be. Not on infuriating forgers who have gained a newfound competence and take-charge attitude which gets poor pointmen hot under the collar. Not that Eames was incompetent before. If anything the entire dreamshare community, including Arthur in his early days, has been sleeping on his brilliance, although knowing Eames he prefers it that way. 

In a job like theirs, it’s always best to keep people guessing, to give them scraps and let them make of it what they can, to misdirect their attention from anything that might be ammunition for others, might paint a target at someone’s back. 

A lifetime of finding security in secrecy had led Arthur to reiterating to Eames about keeping things about them under wraps. Eames hadn’t questioned it even once, the man himself had created a wholeass alter-ego for whenever he went back to his hometown. Arthur had thought that having a solely professional relationship with Eames would be a walk in the park. 

He had grossly underestimated how much this whole situation would claw at his insides. Don’t get him wrong, it’s not affecting his work, because he’s a _goddamn professional_ but when he’s not working, he’s lying awake in his bed, alone, and thinking in counterfactuals. If he were next to Eames, he’d be getting sleep, that’s for damn sure. 

It doesn’t also help that Jae is a little bit enamoured with Eames and his forging skills. Even a blind man can see that it’s nothing beyond a professional interest, a curiosity and fascination. But Eames and he always had multiple layers of separation between them on jobs before and now when there’s nothing and noone between them, being distant and discordant with Eames is not as easy as Arthur thought it might be. 

Eames, on the other hand, seems to be dealing with it just fine. The asshole.

Despite the barbs, Eames is right, he did bring it upon himself, which is why he only allows himself five minutes to think uncharitable thoughts about Eames and/or Jae at night when they both retire to the room that night. 

Arthur is a goddamn idiot. 

____________

  
  


Arthur pulls Eames into the washroom, locking the door behind them. He pushes the bigger man against the wall, hands fisted in the collar of his mustard – _seriously, Eames?_ – coloured shirt and kisses him right as the forger tries to open his mouth to ask him what the hell he was doing. 

It’s good that that’s an effective way to shut Eames up because honestly, Arthur has no idea what he would say to that. He’s the last goddamn person who would duck out for an afternoon quickie. And he’s always been of the opinion that business and pleasure should be kept diametrically opposite to each other. Which obviously means no revelations of one’s personal life, no shooting the shit, and especially giving no indications that he and Eames are anything but occasionally part of the same team. 

Although the inception job had come through and blown all of this out of the water, what with Dom’s personal problems, the drama between Eames and Arthur, and the way Ariadne had wormed her way into all of their hearts. Maybe he hadn’t had the time to find an equilibrium regarding working with someone from there. Or maybe it was the fact that it was Eames. Or maybe it was just Arthur’s stunted emotional and romantic development seeing as ever since he’d joined the military, his only romantic interludes before Eames had been one night stands and an inadvisable crush in the beginning of his career. 

At this point though, Arthur could care less about any of that because Eames’ hands are on his ass and he’s doing his best to merge with his lover, not even a hair’s breadth of space between them, and then Eames bites him, _hard_. Arthur pulls away with a gasp, running his tongue along his own bottom lip, no bleeding at least, panting slightly. 

Eames takes a second to catch his breath and Arthur takes the opportunity to mouth at the corner of his jaw, uncaring of the stinging pain in his lip. 

“Bloody hell, Arthur - god, stop, darling,” Eames pants and Arthur freezes, slowly pulling away, ears burning in embarrassment. 

Shit. He just. Accosted Eames. Into a damn washroom. And attacked him like some sex crazed animal. 

“Not that – not that I didn’t enjoy every moment of that but care to tell me what that was for, darling? You’re the last person I woul-” 

“Expect this from yeah, whatever, you’re right. I’m sorry, that was – grossly inappropriate and wildly unprofessional of me,” Arthur pushes away from Eames, but doesn’t get too far as Eames wraps his arms around Arthur’s waist and prevents him from putting himself to rights – erecting a barrier of space and propriety between them. “I – let me go, I said I’m sorry,” He bites out. 

“I will if you stop giving in to your defence mechanism and bloody talk to me.” 

Arthur sometimes forgets that Eames knows him like no other. They haven’t really been together long but in terms of how long they’ve been in each other’s orbits, fascinated by the other, observing, cataloguing, paying attention, well, there’s not much they can’t read off of the other. It makes for some phenomenal sex and some very raw arguments. 

He stops trying to push away and evades Eames’ eye as he confesses, “Don’t – I know it sounds crazy, it kind of is, I mean, I never – shit, what I’m trying to say,” he pauses, clearing his throat, “I am not over it.” 

“Not… over who?” Eames asks cautiously and Arthur can tell his thoughts have gone in the wrong direction, one that terminates at Cobb. 

“No, no, not who, Eames. What. You and… Jae.” 

“Arthur, you damn well know –” Arthur slaps a hand over Eames’ mouth stopping his indignant rant. Eames’ eyebrows raise so derisively that Arthur is half tempted to just shoot both of them just to end this conversation here. 

“I know there’s nothing, Eames. I’m not an idiot. I just fucking hate that they get to sleep next to you when I can’t. It’s irrational and possessive and I don’t know why I’m feeling this way but I need to – I want to – reestablish something and then I should stop being so crazy.” 

Eames’ eyes widen and Arthur can feel his left cheek lift up and he knows, he just _knows_ Eames is smirking under his hand. He lets Eames reach up and pull his hand away from his mouth, taking a hold of it and using it to tug Arthur closer. 

“Feel like asserting your dominance? Or just checking to see if I’m still interested?” 

“Reminding you that you’re mine.” Arthur grits out, unable to stop the words. 

Eames’ gasp echoes through the tiny bathroom and his expression is so openly wondrous, so rapturous, as if Arthur’s statement, dripping with possession, staking his claim, is a revelation for him. And god, it hurts Arthur a little bit in ways he thought he couldn’t feel before – guilt for prolonging the lie because of Cobb, for letting Eames believe he was playing a losing game, for not being able to stay away from the infuriating man and giving him hope before circumstances snatched it away. 

“Say it again,” Eames finally says after moments of silence, his voice soft. 

“You’re mine, Mr. Eames. Just like I’m yours. And you better not forget it.” 

Eames is the one to initiate this time, pushing Arthur back and seating him on the counter as he kisses him with a ferocity that causes a fire in his veins, hands all over, and Arthur reciprocates in kind, wrapping his legs around Eames’ waist and pulling him close, nails scratching at his scalp, hands running along those broad shoulders before he opens the first few buttons of his shirt, almost tearing them off in his hurry, breaking the kiss so he can bite down on the junction of his neck and shoulder, sucking his mark there causing Eames to groan and Arthur loves the sound of that, the way he can feel it rumbling in his chest, so he licks and nips and sucks his way up, having enough wherewithal to not leave anything as dark as the one at the base of his neck. 

“Arthur - Jesus, who knew?” Eames is moaning over his head and Arthur lifts his head to grasp his cheeks on either side and tilt his head so they make eye contact. 

“If we had any supplies on us, I’d fuck you right here and now.” 

“I really regret letting you empty my pockets.” 

“It’s tacky to carry around lube and condoms in your damn pockets, Eames.” 

“Well, when I’m involved with a young minx like you who gets me so hot under the collar, I don’t think it’s an unreasonable strategy to be prepared. I thought you liked that kind of thing.” 

“Shut it, Mr. Eames, and kiss me.” 

“Right away, darling,” Eames complies with a small smile. This time, they kiss with less urgency, hands caressing, holding, feeling. 

They break away after a few minutes, before things escalate any further. Despite the idea of just letting go of all inhibitions and going at it in the washroom in close proximity to the team being hot as hell, in reality, it’s irresponsible and kind of inconvenient. Not to mention downright rude. Arthur’s issues aside, Jae is nothing but a fantastic individual who doesn’t deserve Arthur and Eames scarring them with things they should keep in the bedroom. Or the living room. Or the floor – basically, their apartment. 

Arthur fixes Eames’ shirt and hair before letting him go out and takes the time to do the same for himself. There’s no way that Jae hasn’t noticed and although they don’t seem like the gossiping type, Arthur isn’t that worried about word getting out linking him and Eames.

Maybe for once the community will actually spread rumours of the right kind. 

And maybe, Arthur muses, watching Eames take his seat, that’ll be warning enough for people to stay the fuck away from Eames.

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a prompt that went like, " _When there aren't enough beds Arthur's first choice person to share with....isn't eames. cue eames jealousy, possessiveness, & pining <3 _" on the Inception Bedsharing Event a while ago and got inspired to flip that situation on its head. Since then I've lost the links to the prompt sheet and don't know whose it originally was but thank you to the prompter for the inspiration. I couldn't submit this as a fill since it wasn't what they asked. 
> 
> The title is from "Cheers Darlin" by Damien Rice in the same vein as the verse it's set in.


End file.
